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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Colombo to get modern sewerage system by Don Asoka Wijewardena The 100-year-old Colombo sewage system which has been deteriorating over the past few years and in need of repairs will be modernised with necessary expansion at a cost of Rs. 3400 m. The Denmark Government has already granted US$ 26 m US dollars (Rs.2600 m) and the Sri Lankan Government will provide Rs.800m. The first phase of the Project was inaugurated by Urban Development and Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Denmark Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michael Stanberge at Madampitiya pumping station recently. Minister Gunawardena referring to the Colombo sewage system pointed out that over the past 50 years population increase,expansion of industrial complexes,construction of new housing projects and business complexes had significantly increased and added that the present Colombo sewage system had not been able to cater to the needs of the Colombo city. He also said that some leaks in the sewage system had been on the verge of causing problems to the drinking water pump systems and to the cannals and earth. The Colombo Sewerage Rehabilitation Project (CSRP) which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply has been entrusted with the entire modernisation and expansion activities of the Colombo sewage system. Urban Development and Water Supply Ministry sources told the "Sunday Observer" that the Colombo sewage system which included 18 major pump stations at strategic locations comprised around 300 km of sewers and most parts of the system were in a dilapidated condition with intermittent collapsing and blockage. Ministry sources also revealed that since 1985 no repairs had been carried out and lack of proper operation and maintenance of the sewers and pump stations had led to regular overflows and short-circuiting causing a threatening pollution in water bodies and the environment as a whole. The Project is sub-divided into three phases: Phase 1 deals with
reconstruction of the pumping station at Madampitiya, Modera, and Phase 2 is
the rehabilitation and replacement of the main Northern sewers leading to
the Madampitiya pumping station and Phase 3 will deal with the
rehabilitation of the main sewage pumping station at Peterson Lane,
Wellawatta serving a large urban area of the Southern system. The Project
has also a major training programme aimed at raising the capacity of staff
managing Colombo's sewerage system. |
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